A new look for its news at MSNBC

Do Americans really need a trio of 24-7 cable news networks?

With more people getting their headline fix from websites and blogs these days, and fewer getting it from TV as well as other “old media,” a No. 3 news network behind Fox News and CNN looks increasingly like overkill, or maybe road kill. Especially when that network is MSNBC, which in a decade of operation has become electronic journalism’s version of the Chicago Cubs.

For NBC Universal -- whose parent General Electric has long preached the need to be No. 1 or 2 in every business segment -- MSNBC has become the Problem That Can’t Be Fixed.

But NBC, which owns a majority stake in the channel with longtime partner Microsoft, still detects a heartbeat. That’s why executives keep tinkering with MSNBC, home of Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann and graveyard of such past flops as Phil Donahue, Michael Savage and Alan Keyes.

Last week, just as the channel celebrated scooping cable competitors with early-morning news of the death of terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi, network insiders were digesting -- mourning somehow seems the wrong word -- the ouster of President Rick Kaplan. You may remember Kaplan, formerly a top ABC News producer, as the executive responsible for CNN’s domestic network during the notorious Tailwind report, which used inconclusive evidence to accuse the American military of gassing U.S. defectors during the Vietnam War (the report was later retracted).

With his volcanic temper and healthy ego, Kaplan was hardly a beloved figure. But skeptics wondered why he was let go when MSNBC has been turning a small profit after years of losses. Ratings have also been climbing of late, up 14% in prime-time weeknights this year compared with last, according to Nielsen Media Research. Senior NBC executives, according to insiders, felt the improvement was too little, too late and also worried about rumblings that Kaplan would soon flee back to ABC or perhaps join his old friend Ted Koppel making documentaries for the Discovery Channel. (Kaplan did not respond to an e-mail, and an MSNBC spokesman said he was not talking to reporters.)

The network has yet to name a replacement. Early speculation has centered on Phil Griffin, a veteran MSNBC producer who helps oversee NBC’s “Today Show.” But NBC News President Steve Capus cautioned that viewers should expect a tune-up rather than a salvage job.

“There’s no need to scrap everything and start from scratch,” Capus said in a interview Friday. “We’re not going to completely change direction.... I see it as part of the continual evolution of this channel.” Capus added that he’s especially pleased with ratings growth for Matthews’ “Hardball” and Olbermann’s “Countdown.” Capus said that, in contrast to a year or so ago, he now believes MSNBC is in “a good place.”

Still, it’s clear that some major changes are on the way.

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The mother ship

One rationale for starting the cable channel in 1996 was that it would allow NBC to exploit all the resources of its news division, including frequent appearances from stars such as Katie Couric. That type of synergy never came to pass -- the talent, for various reasons, often balked at appearing on cable -- but the company remains determined to make use of those corporate ties. Among the ideas being batted around: an expanded MSNBC role for “Dateline,” the newsmagazine that will be cut back to Saturdays only in the fall on the broadcast network.

Capus said that, several years ago, “We were in a phase where NBC News was not necessarily at the core of MSNBC. I think NBC News has to be at the core.”

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The end of opinion?

Four years ago, when Fox News and its host Bill O’Reilly began dominating cable news ratings, executives retooled MSNBC to focus on “opinion journalism.” Hence the recruitment of right-wing shock-jock Savage and other stars. But that approach largely hasn’t worked.

Meanwhile, the bosses at 30 Rock are paying careful attention to “Dateline’s” “To Catch a Predator” series on suspected child molesters airing in NBC prime time this summer. Trashed by critics as exploitative, “Predator” nonetheless has become the closest thing the news division has to a “destination” show, something people go out of their way to watch.

Generally, executives want broader thinking about what viewers want, something news purists may not welcome. “I fault news producers at times for being too narrow in their determination of what constitutes news,” Capus said. “I think of MSNBC as a news and information network.”

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Watch out, Rita

Executives have already started scrubbing some initiatives begun under Kaplan’s watch, including “Weekends With Maury & Connie,” a low-rated series with husband-and-wife hosts Maury Povich and Connie Chung. The brass is also said to be unhappy with “Rita Cosby Live & Direct,” a 10 p.m. show with the husky-voiced former Fox News anchor that after a strong start has struggled to build an audience.

Other offerings may just get tweaked, including shows hosted by legal analyst Dan Abrams, former Congressman Joe Scarborough and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson. But no one’s immune from scrutiny: Even the hard-charging Matthews, who’s spent seven years on the network, has been encouraged to interrupt guests less frequently.

Unclear is whether any of these fixes will sharpen MSNBC’s identity. And that’s perhaps its biggest problem. What does the network stand for? Bill O’Reilly treats himself as a symbol of Fox News, and many viewers regard him that way. CNN is increasingly associated with Lou Dobbs’ sour crusade against illegal immigration and corporate outsourcing.

And MSNBC?

Well, did we mention that Chris Matthews is more polite?

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Channel Island runs Mondays in Calendar. Scott Collins’ TV blog is at latimes.com/channel island. Contact him at channelisland@latimes.com